1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a robotized transfer system for containers or magazines having different configurations utilized in semiconductor device production lines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The production of integrated circuits or more generally semiconductor integrated devices is an example of very large scale fabrication and widely exploits, for obvious cost abatment considerations, highly automatized production lines exploiting self-propelled robots for handling and transferring the components being assembled. Normally these components have relatively small dimensions and/or are relatively fragile mechanically and it is a common practice for automatically handling and transferring them to employ specific magazines capable of containing a certain number of pieces in an orderly and safe way. These magazines have shapes and dimensions necessarily very different among each other, each being specifically designed and constructed for transporting objects and component parts very much dissimilar from one another: such as for example wafers, metal frames for assemblying the dies, stamped strips or ribbons of lead frames, etc.. For these reasons, the robots for handling and transferring these magazines along the production line must be specifically equipped for handling a certain type of magazine, and this often requires the substitution of the pick-up pincers at the extremity of a mobile arm thereof.
Typical magazines for wafers and for metal frames are respectively shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Commonly these magazines are made of plastic or metallic material and are provided with two external lateral grooves 1 and 2 along the upper rim of the magazine, wherein the two jaws of the pick up pincers of the mobile arm of the transfer robot exert their grip. As it is easily understandable from the figures, the shapes and dimensions of the magazines which are often much dissimilar among each other, entail the use of special pincers or the substitution of one type of pincers with another type suitable for the particular type of magazine to be handled next. Another drawback is represented by the fact that the pick-up pincers necessarily present a substantially larger encumbrance than the magazine itself (at least in the direction of action of the jaws of the pincers) and this may represent a problem for handling these magazines within recesses, e.g. for depositing the magazine in a preordered location on a machine or on a testing apparatus or for permitting an easy arraying of several magazines one against the other within a "buffer" housing or platform.